ABSTRACT
Lyme Borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete transmitted to man by a tick bite. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of tick bites for the diagnosis of Borreliosis in a sample of 266 subjects residing in an endemic area of north-eastern Italy. In the serological diagnosis of Borreliosis, positive and negative predictive values of tick bites were found to be 24% and 88% respectively.
Subject(s)
Arachnid Vectors/microbiology , Bites and Stings/complications , Lyme Disease/transmission , Ticks/microbiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Animals , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Borrelia burgdorferi Group/immunology , Borrelia burgdorferi Group/isolation & purification , Child , Female , Humans , Italy , Lyme Disease/etiology , Male , Middle Aged , Predictive Value of Tests , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
One hundred overweight adult patients were subjected to a hypocaloric diet with periodic controls during a one year observation period. During the first 4 months, 98% of the patients adhered to the dietary regimen, with an initial mean percentage loss of body weight of 9.3% for the females and 8.9% for the males. The weight loss was more conspicuous during the first two months of the diet therapy and in patients with an initially higher BMI. With time, the rate of drop-out from the diet therapy increased, which resulted in a follow-up of 49% and 87% of cases at 6 and 12 months respectively, with no significant differences between the two sexes. The drop-out phenomenon resulted to be more frequent in patients with an initially lower BMI.
